| This project presents a survey of the general concepts of children in Germanic culture of northern Europe and in the Roman and Christian societies of the Mediterranean world between the fifth and ninth centuries. It represents a historiographical sweep ranging from the first ethnological reports of Roman soldiers about the peoples who inhabited the northern frontier to the development of centralized power under the Carolingian dynasty. The dissertation is limited geographically to the contemporary definition of Western Europe, i.e., Italy, Spain, Gaul, North Africa and the German frontier. Given the unprecedented nature of this topic, literary evidence was gathered from the entire range of contemporary sources. The medical texts of the classical world, whose influence on medieval medicine was pronounced, decided that the bodies and minds of children were soft and pliable. A systematic examination of the Germanic law codes, theological treatises, and debates over education together with relevant church counsels and penitentials revealed the conflict between the orthodox Church and the Germanic tribes over the nature and social roles of children. Other documents, such as histories, pedagogy, hagiographies, and letters, suggested the reasons why children were desirable in all three cultures, and why they remained marginal members of their communities. Archaeological remains provided clues to the belief systems of the Germans prior to their adoption of literacy. This project has two goals. The first is to sketch the different attitudes towards children, from conception through infancy, held by the Roman, Christian, and Germanic societies. Secondly, that this process will have the pentimento effect of suggesting the distinct nature of the Germanic culture under the traditional dominance of classical and orthodox literature. It seeks to ask such questions as: What were the three societal concepts of children? How was the relationship between parents and children perceived? Were ideas about the nature of children formulated by the process of conception or birth? When did children become human? Did these definitions change if a child was born deformed or disabled? How were these ideas affected by the evolving theology of the early Church?... |
